The polish territories occupied by the Wehrmacht in september 1939 were partly annected to the Reich (Eingegliederte Ostgebiete), the remaining part became the General-Gouvernement. The purpose of the Nazis was to fully germanise the incorporated eastern territories by execution or deportation (to the GG) of all non-german elements. The plan was started in the early days of september 1939. The Gauleiter and the SS were leading this operation.
Now it is important to know that 80 % of the annected territories considered themselves as being non-german (7.8 million on a total of 9.7 milion). These are figures of the nazi administration (in december 1939 the Nazis had the entire population registered). In Danzig Westpreussen f.i. only 16,3 % declared the mother tongue to be german (71 % polish an 12 % kassubish).
Soon it appeared to be almost impossible to germanise those territories by execution, deportation and immigration of Batic Volksdeutsche. Different reasons can be listed:
- given the scale of the operation, it becomes clear that the germanisation could not be finished in weeks are even months.
- as in spring 1941 the operation Barbarossa is getting prepared, all means of transport are reserved for military purposes. The deportation of non-german population to the GG is a problem.
- as the occupied territories are getting "emty", the economy stucks. The Wehrwirtschafts- und Ruestungsamt des OKW, the Arbeitsministerium and the Amt fuer den Vierjahresplan are asking to keep cheap labour in the territories. At the same time the quality of the immigrating Volksdeutsche(from the Baltic area, etc) is often considered as poor. Forster, f.i. (Westpreusen), refuses incoming transports of these Volksdeutsche.
How did the Gauleiter face this problems without loosing their face? Forster (Danzig Westpreussen) and Wagner (Schlesien) choose the easiest way: when you cannot germanise the territories by deportating of exterminating the Poles, well, let's make Germans out of them!!!!
It may sound silly but this is what happened. You cannot understand this properly without the notion of "Deutsche Volksliste", which was a typical nazi-invention and introduced in the eastern teritories in march 1941. Simplyfying the whole, the purpose of this DVL was to make a distinction between very good germans, good germans, less good germans and bad germans (but germans anyway). Anyway, the germans had to be registered into 4 categories:
1. active Germans (who always claimed in public to be German. They could be member of the NSDAP).
2. passive Germans (who did not use to show sympathy for Germany in the past. Therefor, they cannot become member of the party).
3. Germans who suffered from Polish influences in the past, but who have sufficient cultural German background to re-become good Germans. (wiedereindeutschungsfaehigen).
4. persons of German origin who become completely Polish but who are sorry now (Renegaten).
Persons of categorie 1 and 2 became German citizens. Persons of groupe 3 got a temporary German citizenship (Deutsche auf Widerruf), had less rights but of course all the duties: one of them was mititary service!!!!
You can imagine that this system could be interpretated in more than one way. Gauleiter Greiser (Wartheland) continued to check the person's past before registering them on the DVL. Wagner (Schlesien) and Forster (Danzig Westpreussen) registered first, that would check after the war if the registration was justified. They used the DVL as a artificial way to show Hitler that their Gau was fully germanised. This competition among the Gauleiter and the revenge on the SS (Forster was histerical that Himmler was in charge of the "Festigung des deutschen Volkstums") made that Forster and Wagner started to registrer massively Poles on the DVL, mainly in group 3. (see Norman Davies, page 446).
Forster even started a compaign (Aufruf of February, 22nd, 1942) against Poles who had not decided yet to register themselves on the DVL. Every person who refused to register before March, 31, 1942 would be persecuted. Sometimes he ordered to register a whole village at once (a village that before the war was considered at 80% as being Polish).
Whatever may be the reason, fact is that a overwelming part of the pre-war Poles living in the eastern incorporated territories are registered in groupe 3 of the DVL. I should check for detailed figures (but in Torun f.i., a town in Westpreussen, 91.8 % of the population is registered in groupe 3 of the DVL!!!).
Kriegsraeson geht for Kriegmanier. In spite of the convention of Geneva and den Haag, the Wehrmacht forced foreigners to military service in the Wehrmacht. But in Poland at least, the DVL created a formal legimitation. The number of Poles serving in the Werhmacht is estimated at 200000 (some speak of 250000). Literature is giving a list of cases of rebellion (singing polish songs while leaving the station, refusing to be registered on the DVL, refusing to swear, etc.) and punishments (prison, concentration camp, etc).
On the western front, some 89300 persons of Polish origin are captured by the Allies. 50000 of them joined the British forces.
On the eastern front they were considered as traitors and transferred to the Tambov camp where a lot of them died.
